LILY TOMLIN CELEBRATED IN PBS'
"ON STAGE AT THE KENNEDY CENTER:
THE MARK TWAIN PRIZE"

Washington, D.C. - "On Stage at the Kennedy Center: The Mark Twain Prize" salutes Lily Tomlin, one the country's most beloved comediennes and the 2003 recipient of the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. The program airs Wednesday, November 26, 2003, at 9 p.m. ET on PBS stations nationwide. (Check local listings.) Taped at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on October 26, the 90-minute special will feature tributes and comic performances from an all-star cast of Tomlin's friends and colleagues and includes classic film and television clips. (More information available at PBS program site.)

Throughout her career, Tomlin has made audiences think, not just laugh. She has created characters familiar to all — from the irascible Ernestine and irrepressible Edith Ann to Trudy, the wise street person, and Agnus Angst, the aggressive but sensitive teenager. Along with her writer and partner, Jane Wagner, Tomlin uses humor and irony as her vehicle for truth. Tomlin's communion with the characters she portrays creates an undeniable intimacy with her audiences. Like Twain, her comedy expresses truths that are recognized instinctively. Through her innumerable characters, Tomlin has become the trenchant and accurate observer of human behavior.

About her selection for the Mark Twain Prize, Tomlin commented, "I am truly honored to be recognized in the name of Mark Twain, an American humorist who was beloved throughout his lifetime and beyond, even as he imparted a strong and vital social consciousness that still resonates today. And I am truly humbled to be mentioned in the same breath as the great American humorists of our culture, the past winners of the Mark Twain Award - Richard Pryor, Jonathan Winters, Carl Reiner, Whoopi Goldberg and Bob Newhart. Thank you for the privilege of being in their company."

Tomlin has received numerous awards throughout her career, including six Emmys; a Tony for her one-woman Broadway show, "Appearing Nitely"; a second Tony for her one-woman performance in Jane Wagner's, "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe"; a CableAce Award for executive producing the film adaptation of "The Search"; a Grammy for her comedy album, "This is a Recording," and two Peabody Awards - the first for the ABC television special, "Edith Ann's Christmas: Just Say Noel" and the second for narrating and executive producing the HBO film, "The Celluloid Closet."

Currently, Tomlin appears on the hit NBC series, "The West Wing," playing President Bartlett's assistant, Debbie Fiderer-a role for which she received a Screen Actors Guild nomination. And on May 21, Tomlin opened an eight-week run of her one-woman play, "The Search," at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles.

"On Stage at the Kennedy Center: The Mark Twain Prize" is a co-production of WETA Washington, D.C.; The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; Mark Krantz Productions; and The Kaminsky Brothers. Executive producers are Peter Kaminsky, Mark Krantz, Robert Kaminsky and Michael M. Kaiser. WETA executive producers are Dalton Delan and David S. Thompson.

Corporate funding for "On Stage at the Kennedy Center: The Mark Twain Prize" is provided by The Coca-Cola Company. Major funding is also provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS.

The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize* was created in 1998 by The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The John Schreiber Group and The Kaminsky Brothers to recognize the art of humorists and to honor one of the world's greatest exponents of humor, Mark Twain. Tomlin, the sixth recipient of the prize, will receive a copy of an 1884 bronze portrait bust of Mark Twain, sculpted by Karl Gerhardt (1853-1940). The bust and its images are courtesy of the Mark Twain House, Hartford, Connecticut. Past recipients of the Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize have been Pryor (1998), Winters (1999), Reiner (2000), Goldberg (2001) and Newhart (2002).

"On Stage" brings to a national audience the richness of artistic performance in the nation's capital. Produced by WETA Washington, D.C., the series encompasses performances from the Kennedy Center, the White House and other notable venues in Washington. For more information about the "On Stage" series, visit the Web site at www.pbs.org/onstage.

WETA Washington, D.C., is the third-largest producing station for public television. WETA's other productions and co-productions include "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," "Washington Week," and documentaries by filmmaker Ken Burns, including "The Civil War" and the upcoming "Horatio's Drive." Sharon Percy Rockefeller is president and CEO. More information on WETA and its programs and services is available on the Web site at www.weta.org.

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